Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Poured a nice clear yellow with fluffy white head that hung around for a while. Aroma is subdued hoppiness with hints of citrus. Flavor is nicely malty that is balanced by the hops. Mouthfeel is good. Not my favorite style, but this is very high on the drinkability scale.

12 oz brown bottle. Pours a nice bright golden yellow with a quickly fading white head. Pleasing sweet malt aroma with a hint of spicy hops. Taste is on the malty side with a smooth as silk mouthfeel. Maybe I was just in the mood for something like this but I just really liked this beer.

Smell: Sweet and cornlike, akin to Miller High Life. I'm disappointed thus far.

Taste: Begins to shine. Begins with a nice mild hit of noble hops, rolling into a clean, refreshing lager. I was expecting some "skunky" element after smelling this beer, but this was happily absent.

Mouthfeel: Good light body. Inviting. Leaves the palate clean.

Drinkability: The taste more than overcomes the off smell. This beer goes down very easily. A very simple beer with a great taste. I could drink the end of a six-pack of this as easily as the first bottle.

12 oz. bottle with a twist-off cap and retro-designed label that's quite appealing. 'Take One Down...Pass it Around' cleverly encircles a '99' on the cap; 'Open with Pride'. Created to commemorate the 99th Anniversary of the Spoetzl Brewery. Thanks to LarryKemp for this beer, brought from Ft. Worth to Portland.

Paired this one with a shrimp scampi my wife created; buttery rotini, sweet onions, garlic, mushrooms and thyme. Drank half with dinner, saving the last few ounces til afterward.

A: Pours to a tall pilsner glass, a crystal clear golden - the epitome of 'helles' (bright). Head is snow white and tops off at a fluffy/creamy 2-fingers before a rapid fall to a slender ring and patchy film. Plenty of rising carbonation, never tapering off even to the last drop. No lace.

M: Buttery, malty smoothness. Creamy and light with a cleansing carbonation and a little sticky sweetness left on the lips with a spiced hopping gently curling the tongue. finishes clean.

D: An enjoyable, light-n-easy drinker. Seems suitable for drinking on a warm day (which today is NOT, another 60 degree mid-June evening), though it paired remarkably well with dinner. Pacing this out long enough for a review was difficult, especially knowing this was my only one. Not a stunning beer overall, but definitely a high scorer in the 'drinkability' category for me...wish I had more.

It's been a long time since my last brew from Spoetzl, back in the mid-90's when Shiner Bock was staple in our early craft beer forays. I've enjoyed plenty of beers since then, but I can always credit that beer for introducing me to the expansive world of beer. Thanks again, Larry, for reintroducing me to this brewer.

Pours a pale-to-medium golden straw color with good clarity, plenty of head, and not-bad retention.

Has that clean, crisp Pilsner-kind-of lager aroma full of bright hops and toasty malt.

Pleasantly malt with a keen, soft sweetness. Clean toasty malt. Floral and bright hops dance around on top of the malt in a sort of Fantasia fashion. A subtle initial tartness grows. Medium-thin body is thicker, solider, and juicier than I would have expected. Finishes pretty clean, leaving only a pucker on the sides of my tongue.

Huzzah! I'm ecstatic to find that 99 took the path of 97 and avoided being another abortion of a beer 98 was. I can't say with any accuracy how close this brew is to a paradigm Helles Lager, but this is a fine offering from Shiner. They would do good to award this beer a membership to their permanent lineup, and maybe scratch the Blond.

Pours a light golden with a small off-white head. Smell is of a German yeast strain and green apple. Taste is light, malt dominated, with a nice, hoppy finish. Mouthfeel is medium, slightly high carbonation. Very drinkable, it would be easy to drink several of these. A good beer, one of the better Shiner Beer's I have had.

T/M- Very bright initially, a sting of citrus, astringent. Tons of tiny bubbles embrace the tongue. It is growing on me though, the only downside to the taste is the lingering after taste of malty metal and some other breed of funk. A good lager, a bit to fruity, not bad though. A good representation, but by no means a great one.

A: Very nice. Clear, good carbonation. What little head there was dissipated rapidly and left no lacing, but that's to be expected. Carbonation continues throughout session.

S: Light, floral hop aroma faintly detected. Straw, hay, and grains make up the rest of the very faint aroma.

T/M/D: Great balance between sweet malty grains and subtle hop notes. Very clean and refreshing. Light bodied, highly drinkable. This beer won't blow you away, but it is a very accurate depiction of the style. And it's a $5 six pack in Texas!

Drinkability: Much better than BMC. kinda reminds me of Heineken with the skunky hop flavor. would buy again. This would be nicer with a longer lasting head. Hop bitterness, flavor and aroma dead on for style. Nice beer

This beer pours a shiny, clear, light golden colour, with a few fingers of foamy white head, and lots of lace. It smells of soda cracker malt, a serious cereal grain aroma. The taste has a lot more of the cereal malt, with a light floral hop essence. There is a light carbonation; this beer goes down quite smoothly, with a strong grainy aftertaste. It would be good for a few rounds.

Pours a bright, clear, yellow straw color with ample suds. Smells of grain malts and a very faint sweetness/honey and hop spice. Taste of forward leaning malt with hops that lean to the back. Light-medium mouthfeel with calm carbonation and average drinkability for a Munich lager. A common representation of the style that pays tribute to Shiner's rich German tradition and heritage.

I like that Shiner is doing well enough to break out from the grip of their ordinary (but solid) Bock to brew some other styles. Their Shiner Black is a nice schwarzbier, and I already know, after having two prior to this review, the 99 is a good helles lager.

Pours a bright, crisp looking pale gold straw color. Big white fluffy head but it fades fast. Some lace, but not much. The nose is malty but unimpressive. Some buttery popcorn scent with a bit of lemon, but nothing overly special. The taste is smooth and malty and nice. Lightly fruity (mostly lemon, maybe some white grape juice) but with a solid malt punch. Good sweet malty aftertaste with the faintest hint of hops (maybe my mind playing tricks on me). Mouthfeel is smooth, almost creamy upon warming to room temp.

A fine beer from the crew at the Spoetzl Brewery. This is one of their best efforts, in my opinion. True to the style and very tasty. I would recommend this to fans of the style and fans of German lagers in general. A fine alternative to much other stuff out there, and a good example of an under-appreciated style.

I reluctantly bought this beer. Normally I'm not much of a Shiner fan but I was on a recent beer run and picked up a single bottle, "what the hell". Poured into a standard pint glass. Light golden color and very bubbly. Had about 1/2 inch of head. Taste was very much spot on to a Munich Helles. I drank a lot of Helles when I was in Germany in October. I really love this style and it isn't produced much in the states. I like to have a break sometimes between the Stouts, barleywines and DIPA's that I normally drink.

Given a vigorous pour into a tall chalice, it comes out with a clear bright gold color and a large inch-tall head of frothy foam. The nose is a bit bland, though, with only a bit of light, grainy malt. Sweet maltiness predominates in the flavor. There are some hints of a some very slight melanoidins. Bitterness is low, with a clean finish.

Not an exciting beer--but it is closely to style. Helles just isn't a particularly interesting style.

This beer is a crystal clear gold(bright). It has a small head that fades fast. Nice sweet malt aroma with a bit of hops in it. I don't detect any adjuncts in the flavor at all. I would say this beer is true to style. Very good malt and hop balance and extremly easy drinking. Leaves a little residual sweet flavor on the palate. I hope Shiner keeps this beer around.

The beer poured a suprisingly rich bright gold, a little darker than I associate with the style, but a very appetizing color with a fine white lace. The aroma was of light malt. The taste is lightly malty, as expected, with just a hint of hops to finish. The beer is light and dry. This was a suprisingly robust Helles and one I would be happy to purchase again.

Pours a clear, bright golden. A one finger, white head quickly fades to a patchy film. Light bready malts, and a spicy, leafy hop character in the aroma.

Clean and crisp. Light, slightly grainy malts are followed by an herbal, peppery hop character that imparts a subtle hop bitterness to the finish. Its light body and vigorous carbonation give the beer a refreshing quality, while a bit of dryness from the hops keeps you drinking.

Overall a pretty good lager, light and refreshing, but far from bland.

The beer pours a light straw, forming a 1 inch white head that fades quickly. Very light spots of lace slide down the glass. The aroma is a light hop presence, along with a slightly stronger grassy smell. The taste starts out with a light fruity/hop flavor, leading to a grass middle, and ending with a smooth light malt finish. Light smooth mouthfeel. Light refreshing flavor and low abv. make for a highly drinkable beer. Overall, not a bad beer, and definitely one with a summer feel. A fine offering from Shiner.

This beer is a crystal clear gold(bright). It has a small head that fades fast. Nice sweet malt aroma with a bit of hops in it. I don't detect any adjuncts in the flavor at all. I would say this beer is true to style. Very good malt and hop balance and extremly easy drinking. Leaves a little residual sweet flavor on the palate. I hope Shiner keeps this beer around. The bottle looks good too.